Poor mental health is one of the biggest issues in the workplace today, causing more than 70 million working days to be lost each year – a figure that has soared 24% since 2010.

One in five people admit to taking days of work due to stress and around a quarter of the working population say they would consider resigning through stress.

So what is causing this incline in poor mental health?

The effects of Government-imposed cuts on money, jobs and benefits are all certainly affecting factors. Add to that, that less than half of employees in the UK say they wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to their manager or line manager about feeling stressed at work.

Well done to Danielle Blaylock from our commercial department and Alison Thomas, who ditched their desks and took to the dance floor to raise funds for our nominated charity, Claire House, earlier this month.

The Strictly Come Dancing event held at the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool raised over £40,000 to support seriously and terminally ill children from the Wirral and beyond.

Hayley Catherall, partner and solicitor in MSBs family department, has been highly commended for her work in apprenticeships by Damar, the national apprenticeships provider.

News came further to Damar Training’s Annual Apprenticeship Awards earlier this month.

Having narrowly missed out on the award for apprenticeships supervisor, Hayley received a letter stating that the judges were particularly impressed with the standard of the nominations in her category and felt strongly she should be specially commended for going above and beyond in her role.

This Sunday, April 2, marks the ninth annual World Autism Awareness Day, where individuals and organisations around the world do their bit to help raise awareness of some of the challenges faced by individuals with autism and their families.

It is a day dedicated to increasing understanding and acceptance of autism spectrum disorder and advancing research into causes and better interventions.

And this month, the team at MSB have undergone training for how to better support specialist needs for clients, customers and employees with autism.

MSB are thrilled to announce that we have been shortlisted in an incredible five categories at this year’s Liverpool Law Society Awards.

We are in the running for criminal, family and property law awards, as well as best medium firm, which we won in 2015. Laura Harrild from our commercial property team is also nominated for best junior lawyer.

International Women’s Day was marked across the world at the beginning of this month, and at MSB we celebrated our credentials as one of the most female-friendly professional firms in the UK.

MSB recently relocated to St Paul’s Square in centre of the Liverpool’s commercial district after staff numbers rose by more than 30% in 2016 – we now boast a 50/50 split in our 14-strong team of partners and more than 80% of our 100-plus employee base are now female.

In the past four years, 20 babies have been born within the firm with every new mother returning to work.

Last week, MSB Solicitors marked the official launch of their city centre office at St Paul's Square. We took the decision to move offices after staff numbers rose by more than 30% in 2016.

MSB now employ over 100 people across three sites and we announced five new partners earlier this month.

The new office, located on the first floor No4 St Pauls,boasts more than 5,500 sq ft in the heart of Liverpool’s commercial district. St Pauls Square has become the essential address for professional services firms in the city.

Archbishop Blanche, Church of England School for girls based in Wavertree, hosted their biggest careers day on February 8 in association with Young Chamber – and MSB were pleased to go along and support.

Young Chamber, an initiative from the British Chamber of Commerce, aims to bring together young people aged 11-19 with local businesses through the Chamber of Commerce network, to provide a meaningful understanding of careers, jobs and opportunities after leaving education.

More than 30 local organisations were involved in facilitating the day, including universities and further education providers, offering advice and insight into the world of continued learning and employment.

Trainee solicitor and former Archbishop Blanch student Sarah McGuiness was there to talk to students alongside managing partner Paul Bibby. Sarah said:

“I’ve been so impressed with how confident and well prepared students are. Even the younger students are keen to engage employers and they’re really asking the right questions and it’s been a pleasure talking to them.

“Archbishop Blanch are clearly doing a great job of getting students to really consider their futures and days like today are so important in helping young people to actually understand their options. It was great to be involved and help them to see that routes into a career in professional services are not as rigid as they once were.”